Textual Analysis

1. Textual AnalysisTextual Analysis
of existing music magazinesof existing music magazines

2. A plug is located in the right third, bottom strip of
this magazine cover under the barcode. In this
you can see the issue number, the date it was
released, the price and the Kerrang website. The
issue number is important to the audience who
collect the magazine and by including the website
the audience is drawn to have a look and it
suggests that there’s more to it than just the
magazine. As well as that it’s a way of promoting
the website.
The masthead is made to look like it’s been smashed
which links to the idea that the sound ‘kerrang’ is like
symbols being hit together. This also suggests the style of
music that this magazine talks about and that it’s quite
loud and dramatic. As well as that, the white cracked
masthead is well known in the music magazine industry
and the majority of people would know what magazine
this is even if a part of the masthead was covered, like in
this example. Also the white colour of this text stands out
against the green and the dull colours around it, making
the audience aware what magazine this is.
The main image is a mid shot and a three shot of the band
‘Green Day’, this suggests to the audience who the main
article of this edition is about. The way that the men are
looking directly at the camera with their eyes wide open
creates a type of eye contact with the audience and it could
suggest that they can relate to each other somehow.
However the fact that their eyes are this wide creates a
slight feeling of intimidation which shows that this
magazine isn’t for very young people. As well as that
there’s quite a dark and depressing feeling towards the
image which could suggest the style of the music that they
create. The member with the dark hair in the middle is
suggested to be the lead member of the band as the rule of
thirds is used to define him from the other two and he’s
stood in front which shows his importance.
The top strip/banner is used to create more attention as to what else is inside, it’s one of the first
things that the viewer sees as it’s on top and that’s where you would typically start reading from.
The use of the red starts between the words shows that there’s different points to it and more
than the audience originally thinks. Also the use of the red for the stars stands out from the white
and black around it making it more appealing to the audience.
The word ‘exclusive’ shows the
reader that you will only find this
studio report in this magazine
which makes it special to them.
This plug makes the audience feel like they’re getting more out of
the magazine than they originally thought they are which
encourages them more to purchase the magazine and have their
favourite band on their wall. The bold white text also emphasises
the fact that you get free posters to catch the audiences
attention.
The fonts are fairly bold but basic and no silly or inappropriate
ones have been chosen, this could suggest that the writer of
this magazine wanted the audience to focus on the contents
of this and actually absorb what they’re trying to tell you
rather than be distracted by different font designs.
The use of alliteration for this story is quite appealing to the
audience as it creates a rhythm and a particular mood. Also
the use of ‘S’ in this alliteration could suggest some snake
like qualities about this article so it could imply that
perhaps Marilyn Manson is a sly character and shows
danger. This would be more appealing to older audiences
or goth-like audience as Marilyn Manson is a dark and
gothic person so it could relate to them. Also the colour
scheme in this is quite interesting as it alternates between
the colours green and white after a certain point and the
word ‘Satan’ stands out as it’s white and surrounded by
green and black.
The other images have been placed at the bottom half of
the cover so that the audience aren’t distracted too much
from the main image. As well as that the two images in
the centre and the right third at the bottom are both
samples of the free posters that you receive in this edition
so if those posters appeal to the audience then it gives
them more reason to purchase the magazine.
KERRANG! Front CoverKERRANG! Front Cover

3. KERRANG! Contents PageKERRANG! Contents PageThe title for the contents page is bright, bold and yellow with a
similar cracked effect that the Masthead ‘Kerrang’ has, this
links the contents page to the actual magazine so they fit
together. As well as that the contrast between the yellow and
black makes this title stand out and the reader would be
attracted to this page fast and would instantly know what this
page is about. As well as that, right under the
title ‘contents page’, there is the
issue number and the date that
this specific edition was published.
This is helpful because just in case
the front cover is lost then you can
still see what issue it is etc. this
would appeal more to the
collectors of this magazine.
The main image for this contents page is of a band holding
the United Kingdom flag. This suggests that they’re a
British band and that they’re proud of it.
The top image on this page also has a bold title of the name of
the band just in case the reader has never heard or seen the
band and wants to find out more about them. This is helpful
because the reader can quickly find what they’re looking for.
The editor of the magazine gives a message to
the audience which gives the magazine a
personal element and the reader can find out
what she was intending to do with this edition.
As well as that there is a picture of the editor
which allows the audience to put a face to the
creator of it and makes the reader realise that
she’s just a person too.
All the articles and pages in the contents page of Kerrang
are all separated into different categories like, ‘feedback’
‘news’, ‘live reviews’, features’, ‘albums’, ‘gig guide’ and
‘the K! quiz’, by doing this the reader can easily find what
they’re most interested in and can find what articles are in
that section and the page numbers (which are all to the left
of each of the article headlines). As well as the, under most
of the article headlines there is a little section with extra
information about the article. This is in a small grey font to
not draw too much attention to them as they’re not the
most important feature of the contents page or the
articles.
All of the important cover stories have their
own small symbol next to them to show the
audience that these articles are big at the
moment making the reader interested and
forces them to read those pages first.
The contents page also gives the reader an opportunity to
sign up for a monthly subscription of the magazine and
delivery, this allows the reader to keep up to date with the
monthly issues without having to leave the house to buy
one from the shops. This has a different coloured
background which is very dark to contrast the white and
make it stand out more and so the reader gives it more
attention than they would if the colours were all the same.
But it also keeps with the colour scheme of the magazine;
red, black and yellow.

4. KERRANG! Double Page SpreadKERRANG! Double Page Spread
The main image is a medium close up of an ex-actress and now singer which takes
up the whole of the left hand side page and a bit of the right hand side page (2/3 of
the whole double page spread) which instantly suggests that this is the main cover
story of this edition of the magazine. The image is placed on a black background
which makes a huge contrast between the singers bright blonde hair making the
whole image stand out catching the readers attention immediately. The singers
black eye make-up also contrasts with her hair and face making it look like her
actual eyes are black, making them pop out at the reader and catching eye contact
with them, which makes the reader feel like they can connect with her and the
story feels more personal to each reader. The reader can easily get an insight into
the article just by looking at the image as she looks careless and rebellious which is
also reflected through the article’s headline, “Wild Child”.
The heading of this article is “Wild Child” which
may confuse the reader if they know this woman
from The Grinch as the innocent little girl. They
will question what she did that now she’s
considered a ‘wild child’ and see what’s changed.
The ‘wild’ part of the heading is almost in a care-
free font style which adds to the fact that the
reader can instantly assume what the article is
actually about and what is happening.
The colour scheme of
this double page spread
is black, pink and white.
These colours
combined create a girly
yet rebellious look
which reflects the
actual content of the
article. As well as that
the white not only
allows the reader to be
able to read the article
easily but it also
connotes her innocence
and that it still could
potentially be there but
she’s just trying to
cover it up for a better
image.
The editor has included a pull quote in the corner under the main image so
that the reader can see it first and can get a rough idea about what they’re
about to read. They have used the same colours for this as they have for
the rest of the article but the way that they have used it makes it stand out
because it’s all on her black jacket background and the fact that the word
‘mistakes’ is filled in a black colour shows that her mistakes are bad and
potentially reckless and it’s almost as if she’s admitting it to herself too.
The editor has included
a rhetorical question
which makes the
reader feel more
involved with what is
going on and will be
drawn to read the
whole text to see what
their decision is.
In the first paragraph of the text, it’s all in a while colour
except for her name and her band name which are bot in
pink. This stands out from the white text and the reader can
immediately identify who she is and what she does. As well
as that they have included the bands name in the top right
hand corner so that the reader can immediately see who this
article is about without even having to look at it properly.
The style of this article is an interview which is easily defined by
the fact that the interviewer’s questions are in pink and her
answers are in white. This is done so the reader doesn’t get
confused and so that there is more white text than pink as it’s
easier to read white over a black background rather than pink.

5. The NME masthead is huge compared to the other texts
around it and it uses the colour white which makes it stand
out from the black background. This attracts the buyers
attention as it’s clear what type of magazine they are
getting. As well as that the letters ‘NME’ stand for ‘New
Musical Express’ and this is stated right under the masthead
just in case the audience isn’t too sure about the meaning
of it. This is quite useful for a naïve reader as they cant get
confused otherwise.
The use of a puff word such as ‘free’ and ‘new’ draws the readers
attention as it excites them to think that they’re getting
something for such a great deal. Also the fact that this part of the
text is in red makes it more appealing for the audience as its such
a bright colour compared to the black and white around it.
The logo for the ‘T in the Park’ event stands out from the
black background as it’s in a yellow rectangle and so it’s
very eye catching. Also the fact that this logo goes against
the typical colour scheme of this magazine (which is black,
white and red) shows that this event is a pretty big event
in the UK and that no one should miss it. By creating this
contrasting logo, the people that have attended or will be
attending this festival will be drawn to purchase this
magazine and see what the review says and whether it
matches their own thoughts on it.
The main image for this magazine
cover isn’t like the typical magazine
cover where a band have been told
what to do and how to pose in a
studio setting whereas in this the
performer is photographed on a
stage where he was most likely just
performing and so is in his natural
habitat. This links well to the festival
‘T in the Park’ as it’s from a live
performance just like you would see
in a festival. This is quite appealing as
it links the main stories that stand
out on this front cover together. As
well as that the expression on
Eminem's face isn’t a fake expression
or a put on one so it shows that he’s
genuine and probably bewildered
and exhausted after his performance.
The white and red sub-articles catch the viewers eye
easily as they’re put against a black background. This is
effective as the people who are fans of ‘Jim Morrison’ or
‘Bombay Bicycle Club’ would see this instantly and would
want to get this magazine to find out more. As well as
that the colour red is an alerting colour and in this case it
adds extra information to the original sub-article but
without giving away too much.
The title of the main article in this edition is very eye catching as it’s yet again
white and red, the colours of this also link to an emergency vehicles which link to
the actual wording of this article ‘rehab’ and ‘recovery’. This makes the viewer
wonder and worry about what had happened to Eminem prior to this and hope
that he’s okay now, which also makes them want to read more about it.
The necklace that Eminem is wearing is
of a cross which shows his belief and
faith and that he never stopped
believing that he could recover. This
shows that he’s a strong character and
that he will carry on no matter what to
make his fans proud.
Eminem is a well known artist in the rap industry and his fans will be
more likely to purchase this magazine if they see someone that they
look up to with a very inspiring story to it.
NME Front CoverNME Front Cover

6. NME Contents PageNME Contents PageNME magazine usually puts a band index on the left
hand side of their contents page, this shows the
reader the wide range of bands that NME magazine
writes about and by doing this it attracts many
different audiences with different music tastes and
therefore this magazine would be fairly popular and
sell more because of this. It also gives the target
audience an idea of where to look for to find the
genre of the music, band or artist that they’re into.
Also the red and black fonts stand out against the
white background making it more visible to the
audience.
The magazine masthead is very bold by the
fact that the shape fill is in the colour red, the
shape outline is white and the background is
black, this quickly reminds the reader what
magazine they’re reading and because of this
they will remember it. As well as that, by
having the masthead in the contents page it
links it to the front cover of the magazine so
the pages are similar. Also it says ‘THIS WEEK’
next to the masthead which appears in each
weekly issue and emphasises that these stories
are of current events.
The articles in the contents
pages of the magazine NME are
typically on the right hand side
and have different categories
and headings which makes it
easier for the reader to find what
they’re looking for and by the
use of the black on white colours
it makes it easier for the reader
to read the titles of the articles.
The short article that is included in the
contents page gives the reader a taste of
what’s inside the magazine and attempts to
convince them to buy it. As well as that, the
article and the main image of this contents
page link together making it more interesting.
The contents page is the page that every reader of
a magazine is typically going to look at so by
including an advertisement for a subscription in this
it enables the advertisement to be noticed rather
than it be hidden within the magazine and to
interest more people to become a monthly
subscriber so that the company would make more
money. This advertisement cut out is in a bright
yellow colour to make sure that it stands out
against the other colours of the page.
The buzz word ‘the UK’s No1…’ over exaggerates the specific
article but it also attracts the reader to have a look at it and see if
they agree.
They have also
included arrows
pointing to the articles
that were on the front
cover so that the
reader can easily find
what they were first
attracted to and read
them.
They have also included some
information about each of the
articles under them in a
smaller and lighter font just to
give some extra detail about
the stories but without
distracting the reader from
everything else.

7. NME Double Page SpreadNME Double Page Spread
The main image takes up half of the double page spread which catches the
readers attention quickly. It is a medium shot of Lily Allen and she’s looking
directly into the camera, creating an intense connection between her and the
reader, by doing this the reader can feel involved in what she’s saying. Her hair
is styled into a punk-like image and what you would stereotypically associate
with punks and emo. This links to the title of this article as it’s about people
thinking she’s attention seeking and typically it is said that punks and emo are
people who seek attention. Lily Allen is a performer that
represents the pop and rock culture,
this is represented by the way that
she’s standing and her body
positioning, with her chest and
shoulders out, which seems to
appeal to the male audience more.
However it’s not patronising towards
the female audience as she’s not
wearing anything revealing and her
outfit choice is sensible. Also she
isn’t very made up and fake as she’s
got very little make-up (except for
her eyes) but otherwise it’s very
neutral. This makes the reader focus
more on the words and what she has
to say rather than what she looks
like.
The headline of this article is also a pull
quote as it’s taken directly from what
she’s said. This makes the reader want to
find out more as they will start assuming
and questioning it. The font of it has
connotations to bands such as the ‘Sex
Pistols’ and other punk rock music styles
because of the newspaper like cutaway
letters. The font and style choice of this
headline attracts the reader to stay on
these two pages and read all about it as
it’s very different to normal and it makes it
even more eye catching than if it was just
written in a normal font. The letters are
also varied in size and disjointed, this
could reflect what Lily Allen is like as a
person and perhaps that she changes a lot.
The text is in the form of an article and is the main part of this two page
spread, linking to the image and title very well. The text is in a small and
simple black font which makes it easy for the reader to read and since
it’s the main part of this it needs to be very clear. There are four
columns used to separate the text out which makes it look neater and
the reader won’t get confused as to where they should read from as this
is obvious. As well as that it follows the usual codes and conventions of
a music magazine as most of them are set out similarly to this.
Each individual page has the page
number, the brand of the
magazine (so NME) and the date
that the copy of the magazine was
issued. This is an important small
detail as it allows the reader to
instantly see what it is and if the
pages ever got separated then
they would still know when it was
released and by who.
The colour scheme of this article is
mainly white, black and red. These
colours go well with each other and
compliment each of them. The red
highlights all the important detail in these
two pages for example Lily Allen’s name
is in red so that it stands out from the
white and black and so the reader can
see who she is immediately.

8. The use of a puff saying that you receive a free CD with this magazine encourages the audience to purchase this
magazine for that and it will draw more attention to the fans of ‘The Rolling Stones’ or the collectors of the Mojo
magazines or just CD collectors in general. Also the plug is very affective as it draws the ‘Free CD!’ sign away from
everything else and it’s almost separate from the actual content of the magazine. Also the fact that this is in the
top left hand corner of the magazine suggests that the viewer will look at that first rather than anything else.
The masthead is fairly simple and similar to the other
headings as its all the same font but just different font
size. The masthead is a plain white colour with a slight 3D
effect to it to make it a little different from the other texts
and the colour of it makes it stand out from the dull
background and it’s quick and easy to find what the title
of this magazine is.
The main image of this magazine cover is a medium close
up of a member of The Rolling Stones. The camera is mainly
focused on his face and his body is slightly blurred, there is
a chiaroscuro effect on his face with the further away half
being dark and the half closest to the camera being light.
This could suggest to the audience that this character has
two personalities, one light and good and the other dark
and dangerous. As well as that the expression on his face is
somewhat confused and clueless so that could show that
he’s not with it 100% which makes the viewer worry about
whether he’s okay physically and mentally. We can also see
huge bags under his eyes which could show that he’s tired
of the fame and can’t deal with this kind of career anymore.
The facial expression of Brian Jones in
the main image and the chiaroscuro
effect links to this heading as the dark
part of his face and the huge eye bags
could be his ‘fall’ and the bright side
could be his ‘rise’. This shows that the
fall came after the rise as there’s still
imperfections in the bright side of his
face which could suggest he couldn’t get
back up to the top after that. This
heading also makes the audience
wonder what Brian Jones did to fall so
badly after he rose up.
This album cover is taking up quite a lot of space of
this magazine cover so it suggests to the audience
that this is fairly important. As well as that this is the
‘free CD’ that the audience is receiving so it would
excite them quite a lot to know it’s not a scam.
The photo for the CD cover has been taken from a low
angle which makes the members of The Rolling Stones give
off the effect that they’re looking down at the audience
and it potentially makes them feel small and irrelevant.
However the fact that the album is called ‘The Roots Of
The Rolling Stones’ could suggest that they’re not looking
down at their fans but at their roots and where they
started off before they got big and well known.
There is a simple structure to this magazines layout
which makes it easier for the viewer to read and take
everything in.
The cover lines are all placed in the right third to show that they are
important headlines but not as important as the main topic (which in
this case is Brian Jones) so they’re kept out of the way and by placing
them here, the viewer has to go through everything else on this cover
page before it gets to them so they’re not loosing the main story.
MOJO Front CoverMOJO Front Cover

9. MOJO Contents PageMOJO Contents Page
By including the issue number it shows the reader
that this is a very successful magazine as this is the
193rd issue and this magazine is only a monthly
release so it must be very good and popular.
The main focus of this contents page is of the
man in the suit as he’s the one that stands out
the most because of the contrasting bright red
colour of his outfit against the faded light green
background and his pale yellow skin. It’s also a
high angle shot and he’s staring straight into
the camera as if it was the reader which makes
them feel more involved and creates a sense of
intimacy and forces them to read the article
about him.
The image has been
made brighter as if
there’s light coming
down at him, this could
perhaps suggest that
life’s getting him down
(due to the high angle)
and the light
representing that it’s
all about to change.
They have made the masthead ‘MOJO’ very large at the
top of the page so that it’s clear to the reader and so
they can instantly see it. They have used the usual font
of the text that they normally use for this masthead so
that the reader can immediately associate the font with
the magazine MOJO.
Also MOJO magazine always includes the cities that the
magazine is iconic for it’s music inspired articles,
always placing ‘London’ first followed by two other
cities. This gives the reader an insight into where the
music comes from that MOJO talks about. This is
always done right under the masthead so that the
reader can immediately see it.
Each page in this magazine has the magazine’s name
written next to each numbered page. This small detail is
very memorable and reminds the reader what magazine
they are reading.
MOJO magazine is aimed at an older audience so by using
the colour scheme of black, grey and gold for the text, it
would appeal more to them rather than if very bright and
vibrant colours were used and overall it is easier to read.
They have used the gold for the main titles of each section
(‘features’, ‘cover story’) and for the numbers so that you
can instantly see where it is without it blending in with the
other text. They used a bold black font for the article
headings and used a smaller grey font for the extra
information below each sub-heading. This keeps the reader
from getting distracted and not understanding what it’s
about. In general, this is a very easy structure to follow
when reading.
They’ve used a pull quote with a different font style at
the bottom of the page so that it pulls the readers
attention to it and makes them interested in the story
and forces them to go further into the magazine.

10. MOJO Double Page SpreadMOJO Double Page Spread
The title for this article is spread across the two pages and the large orange
writing stands out against the dull black and grey background, making it jump
out at the reader when they’re flicking through the magazine. As well as that,
the phrase “Best of both worlds” could suggest something exciting for
example that the fans are going to receive something from two different
bands or artists all in one.
The colour scheme for this double page spread article is grey, white and orange.